California topographic maps
Click on a map to view its topography, its elevation and its terrain.
Monterey
United States > California > Monterey County
Summers in Monterey are often cool and foggy. The cold surface waters cause even summer nights to be unusually cool for the latitude; this is in distinct contrast to the much warmer summer days and nights of the U.S. east coast. The extreme moderation of summer temperatures is further underlined by the fact…
Average elevation: 50 m
Palm Springs
United States > California > Riverside County
One possible origin of palm in the place name comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or "The Palm of God's hand". The earliest use of the name "Palm Springs" is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps. According to William…
Average elevation: 859 m
Mount Shasta
United States > California > Siskiyou County
Mount Shasta (/ˈʃæstə/ SHASS-tə; Shasta: Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki; Karuk: Úytaahkoo) is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of 14,179 ft (4,322 m), it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth-highest in the…
Average elevation: 3,717 m
Palo Alto
United States > California > Santa Clara County
The official elevation is 30 feet (9 m) above sea level, but the city boundaries reach well into the northern section of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Average elevation: 186 m
San Rafael
United States > California > Marin County
San Rafael has a wide diversity of natural habitats from forests at the higher elevations to marshland and estuarine settings. Its marshes are home to the endangered species salt marsh harvest mouse. There are also riparian areas including the San Rafael Creek and Miller Creek corridors.
Average elevation: 79 m
Hillsborough
United States > California > San Mateo County
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16 km2), all of it land. The area's considerably winding, hilly topography, and impossibility of a grid layout make Hillsborough notoriously challenging to navigate. Many lots include fairly steep slopes, particularly…
Average elevation: 100 m
Ventura County
Ventura County can be separated into two major parts, East County and West County, which are divided by the Conejo Grade. East County consists of all cities east of the Conejo Grade. Geographically East County is the end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in which the Conejo Valley is located, and where there is a…
Average elevation: 331 m
San Diego
United States > California > San Diego County
The climate in San Diego, like most of Southern California, often varies significantly over short geographical distances, resulting in microclimates. In San Diego, this is mostly because of the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons). Frequently, particularly during the "May…
Average elevation: 125 m
Trinity County
The county hosts many visitors, especially during summer months, for camping, backpacking, boating on the lakes, rafting/kayaking on the rivers, hunting, and fishing. The summers tend to be clear, sunny, warm, and very dry, with little rain from June to September except for some mountain thunderstorms in the…
Average elevation: 868 m
Santa Ana
United States > California > Orange County
Santa Ana is nested on flat, low-lying plains with little land elevation change. Running through the west end of the city is the mostly channelized Santa Ana River, which is also largely seasonal due to the construction of the Prado Dam and Seven Oaks Dam. The river has caused several severe floods in the 20th…
Average elevation: 30 m
Morgan Hill
United States > California > Santa Clara County
Morgan Hill is approximately 24 mi (39 km) south of downtown San Jose, 13 mi (21 km) north of Gilroy, and 15 mi (24 km) inland from the Pacific coast. Lying in a roughly 4-mile-wide (6 km) southern extension of the Santa Clara Valley, it is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Diablo Range…
Average elevation: 153 m
Hemet
United States > California > Riverside County
Dedicated to James Simpson, Hemet City Council 1947–48, and mayor 1950 to 1966. Simpson Park is a wilderness park located in the Santa Rosa Hills southeast of Hemet with sheltered picnic area and tables, barbecues, restrooms, and hiking trails. At an elevation of 2,500 feet (760 m), it provides an expansive…
Average elevation: 535 m
Los Angeles City Council District 12
United States > California > Los Angeles
Average elevation: 390 m
San Bruno
United States > California > San Mateo County
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14 km2), all of it land. The city spreads from the mostly flat lowlands near San Francisco Bay into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, which rise to more than 600 feet (180 m) above sea level in Crestmoor and…
Average elevation: 53 m
Sierra Madre
In 1908, the first Mt. Wilson Trail Race was run. This annual race was discontinued during WWII and reestablished in 1966. The 102nd anniversary of the first running of the Mount Wilson Trail Race and the 44th annual race was run in May 2010. Because of rain, mudslides, falling trees, soil erosion and…
Average elevation: 361 m
Friant
United States > California > Fresno County
Friant (formerly, Converse Ferry, Jones Ferry, Hamptonville, and Pollasky) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census, down from 778 at the 2000 census. Friant is located 11.5 miles (19 km) north of Clovis, at an elevation of 344…
Average elevation: 135 m
Live Oak
United States > California > Santa Cruz County
Live Oak is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California between the cities of Santa Cruz and Capitola and north of the former Union Pacific railroad. Live Oak sits at an elevation of 102 feet (31 m). The population was 17,038 at the 2020 census. The population of the greater Live Oak area,…
Average elevation: 50 m
Sunnyvale
United States > California > Santa Clara County
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.7 sq mi (58.8 km2), of which, 22.0 sq mi (56.9 km2) of it is land and 0.69 sq mi (1.8 km2) of it (3.09%) is water. Its elevation is 130 feet above sea level.
Average elevation: 24 m
Long Beach
United States > California > Los Angeles County
Willow Springs Park was founded as a part of the Willow Springs Wetlands Restoration Project which opened in October 2017. The project restored 11 acres of a 48-acre degraded oil well site into wetlands. These highlight the pivotal role the ecosystem played in the City of Long Beach's establishment in the late…
Average elevation: 12 m
San Ramon
United States > California > Contra Costa County
The topography of San Ramon is varied, featuring a mix of the rolling hills of the Diablo Range and the flatter basin of the San Ramon Valley. The city is predominantly urban and residential with many new housing developments; however, much of the land around the city's perimeter regions remains undeveloped,…
Average elevation: 210 m
Redding
United States > California > Shasta County
The elevation in Redding is 495 feet (151 meters) on average, whereas anywhere to the north, east, or west of downtown ranges between 550 and 800 feet (170 and 240 m). Southern portions range between 400 and 500 feet (120 and 150 m).
Average elevation: 240 m
Sierra County
Prior to the California Gold Rush, the area was home to both the Maidu and the Washoe peoples. They generally summered in the higher elevations to hunt and fish, and returned to lower elevations for the winter months. After the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills sparked the California Gold Rush, more…
Average elevation: 1,690 m
Twentynine Palms
United States > California > San Bernardino County
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.1 square miles (153 km2), all land. The city is at an elevation of 1,988 feet (606 m). The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms is located there.
Average elevation: 690 m
Point Dume
United States > California > Los Angeles County > Malibu
Offshore, the nutrient-rich and frigid waters of the Pacific enhance the entire marine food web, from primary producers such as algae and zooplankton to apex predators like sand sharks, bottlenose dolphins, and gray whales. Within the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the diverse seafloor topography encompasses…
Average elevation: 12 m
San Leandro
United States > California > Alameda County
The San Leandro Hills run above the city to the northeast. In the lower elevations of the city, an upper regionally contained aquifer is located 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) below the surface. At least one deeper aquifer exists approximately 250 feet (75 m) below the surface. Some salt water intrusion has taken…
Average elevation: 21 m
Bakersfield
United States > California > Kern County
Most of Bakersfield's major streets are six-lane divided roads with bike lanes, with almost every street in the city having proper lane signage for bicycle traffic. Bicycles are a popular mode of transportation in Bakersfield, due to the city's relatively flat topography and grid-like street system. Newer…
Average elevation: 157 m
Milpitas
United States > California > Santa Clara County
The median elevation of Milpitas is 19 feet (6 m). At Piedmont Road, Evans Road, and North Park Victoria Drive, the elevation is generally about 100 feet (30 m), while the western area is almost at sea level. The highest point in Milpitas is a 1,289-foot (393 m) peak in the southeastern foothills.
Average elevation: 47 m
Salinas
United States > California > Monterey County
Prior to mass agricultural and urban development, much of the city consisted of rolling hills bisected by wooded creeks and interspersed with marsh land. Today, the city is located mostly on leveled ground, with some rolling hills and wooded gulches with creeks remaining in the north-eastern Creekbridge and…
Average elevation: 19 m
Sebastopol
United States > California > Sonoma County
Sebastopol's elevation is 65 to 250 feet (20 to 76 meters) above sea level. Its downtown is at the intersection of State Route 12 and State Route 116 (Gravenstein Highway), approximately 9 mi (14 km) west of U.S. Route 101.
Average elevation: 43 m
San Juan Bautista
United States > California > San Benito County
In June 1904, early aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery made a series of successful test flights using his tandem-wing glider in San Juan. This was a prototype to his 1905 gliders that were used to make the first successful high-altitude flights in heavier-than-air flying machines in the world.
Average elevation: 72 m
Escondido
United States > California > San Diego County
Escondido has a borderline semi-arid climate (Köppen: Bsh) and hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot summers and cool wet winters. Owing to its inland setting it is considerably warmer than coastal cities like San Diego, Carlsbad or Oceanside during the summertime, and cooler in the winter.…
Average elevation: 273 m
Los Banos
United States > California > Merced County
Los Banos is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Merced, at about 118 ft (36 m) elevation. Its coordinates are 37°03′30″N 120°51′00″W / 37.05833°N 120.85000°W / 37.05833; -120.85000. The city is at the intersection of California State Route 152…
Average elevation: 36 m
Rancho Cordova
United States > California > Sacramento County
In the Gold Rush era of mid-19th-century California, certain Placer mining activities took place in the Rancho Cordova environs, some traces of which disturbance are extant. The elevation of the generally level terrain is approximately 118 feet (36 m) above mean sea level.[8] Lone Star Gravel Company and other…
Average elevation: 31 m
Selma
United States > California > Selma
Selma is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 23,319 at the 2010 census, up from 19,240 at the 2000 census. Selma is located 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Fresno, at an elevation of 308 feet (94 m).
Average elevation: 96 m
Taft
United States > California > Kern County
Taft (formerly Moron, Moro, and Siding Number Two) is a city in the foothills at the extreme southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Taft is located 32 miles (51 km) west-southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 955 feet (291 m). The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census.…
Average elevation: 370 m
Thousand Oaks
United States > California > Ventura County > Thousand Oaks
The northern parts consist of mountainous terrain in the Simi Hills, Conejo Mountains and Mount Clef Ridge. Narrow canyons such as Hill Canyon cut through the steeper mountainous areas. Conejo Mountain and Conejo Grade are found in westernmost Newbury Park, while the southernmost parts of Thousand Oaks are…
Average elevation: 333 m